A team of scientists has revealed the remains of an intact and astonishingly preserved 500-year-old shipwreck in the Baltic, using state-of-the-art underwater robots. But the ship’s identity remains a mystery.
The pristine but unknown ship (or “okänt skepp” in Swedish) is probably “the best preserved shipwreck of its period to be discovered in recent times,” according to archaeologists from the University of Southampton. It is believed to be from the Early Modern Period (late 15th – early 16th Century).
The ship was first detected with sonar by the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) in 2009, but earlier this year, as part of work carried out by seabed survey specialists MMT, the wreck was identified as having great archaeological and historical significance, a press release states.
“This ship is contemporary to the times of Christopher Columbus and Leonardo Da Vinci, yet it demonstrates a remarkable level of preservation after five hundred years at the bottom of the sea, thanks to the cold, brackish waters of the Baltic,” said MMT’s maritime archaeologist and deep sea archaeological expert Dr. Rodrigo Pacheco-Ruiz, who led the discovery and inspection of the ship.
““It’s almost like it sank yesterday – masts in place and hull intact,” Pacheco-Ruiz said. “Still on the main deck is an incredibly rare find – the tender boat, used to ferry crew to and from the ship, leaning against the main mast. It’s a truly astonishing sight.”
An archaeological survey dated the ship earlier than the warship Mars, which sank after an explosion in the First Battle of Öland in 1564 and Henry the VIII’s Mary Rose (1510-1545 AD) as well as the Swedish warship Vasa (1628 AD).
Photogrammetric model of the ship’s bow showing the anchor still in place. (Credit: Deep Sea Productions / MMT)
Experts say it’s rare to find a ship in such an astonishing condition that predates the larger and more powerful vessels involved in the later Northern Seven Year’s Wars (1563-1570) – a period of great importance which defined the path of modernization of Scandinavian nations.
The ship lies on the Baltic seabed with her hull structure preserved from the keel to the top deck and all of her masts and some elements of the standing rigging still in place, scientists said.
The shipwreck was explored by two undersea robotic cameras, one of them seen here being launched from the vessel the Stril Explorer. (Credit: Deep Sea Productions / MMT)
The bowsprit and a rudimentary decorated transom stern are still clearly visible, as are other rarely seen elements, such as the wooden capstan and bilge pump. The ship sports swivel guns, which are still in place on the gun deck — “a testament of the tension” at the time, according to the statement.
The expedition that discovered and explored the shipwreck is a collaboration among the Center for Maritime Archaeology at the University of Southampton; the Maritime Archaeology Research Institute of Södertörn University in Sweden; Deep Sea Productions in Sweden, and MMT, a Swedish firm that performs seabed surveys.
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